Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP to fulfil late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar’s dream of “Akhand Bharat” and took a dig at Modi over the issue of his educational degrees.
Addressing the first rally of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, formerly Aurangabad, days after communal violence, Thackeray targeted BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the ‘Savarkar Gaurav yatra’, saying the sacred saffron (flag) doesn’t look good in their hands.
“Savarkar suffered rigorous imprisonment and hardships for the Independence of the country and not to make Modi the prime minister. Will you fulfil Savarkar’s dream of ‘Akhand Bharat’?” Thackeray asked. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar and his counterparts from Congress Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan also spoke on the occasion. The MVA comprises Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasahedb Thackeray) NCP, and Congress. “The BJP and (Eknath) Shinde-led Shiv Sena should follow the ideals of Savarkar and Sardar Patel. Some time back, Amit Shah had asked BJP in Maharashtra to show Uddhav Thackeray his place. This is my place. But when will you show us the place in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK)?” he asked. Thackeray dubbed BJP the “Bhrasht” (corrupt) party. “Calling it Bharatiya Janata Party is an insult to the people of India. They attack Opposition leaders with corruption charges and induct them into their party. So all corrupt leaders are now in the BJP,” the former chief minister said. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also on Sunday led the ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatra’ in his hometown Thane in which hundreds of people took part to honour late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. The Bharatiya Janata Party and Shinde-led Shiv Sena had last month announced that Savarkar Gaurav Yatras would be taken out in each district of Maharashtra to honour Savarkar’s contribution to the country and to counter Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism against him. The yatra participants, wearing saffron caps with ‘Mi Savarkar’ (I am Savarkar) and other messages written on them, paid floral tributes to Savarkar at the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane city from where the yatra commenced. A tableau displaying information related to Savarkar was also part of the yatra. Shinde and some other leaders of the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP coalition participated in the yatra on a makeshift ‘chariot’ with a large photograph of Savarkar in the background.
The vehicle was decorated with flowers and followed by supporters riding motorbikes with saffron flags on them. Rahul Gandhi’s “My name is not Savarkar, my name is Gandhi and Gandhi does not offer an apology to anyone” remark has drawn fire from the BJP. The former Congress chief had made the remark while addressing a press conference after being disqualified from the Lok Sabha and amid BJP’s demands for his apology for allegedly insulting Other Backward Classes (OBCs) with his “Modi surname remark” that got him convicted for criminal defamation.
